The history of U.S. ordnance is full of examples of good cartridges that have passed into obsolescence. The 219 Zipper, 284 Winchester and 6.5 Remington Magnum were all fine ideas, but terribly limited by the rifles for which they were introduced. When Remington brought out their 7mm Magnum in 1962, however, they did everything right the first time. Introduced in what was then the new Model 700 bolt action, both rifle and cartridge have gone on to become phenomenally popular.

Remington had only two real competitors in this market. One was the 7mm Weatherby Magnum, offered in Weatherby’s rather expensive Mark V rifle. The other was the 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart, chambered in the infrequently encountered Shultz & Larsen. While the performance of all three is quite similar, only the Remington was readily available in an affordable package. The real secret to its success is quite simple-it’s fast, flat, accurate and potent.

The 7mm Remington Magnum is, first and foremost, a hunting cartridge and has been used to take virtually every big game species in North America, including big bears. Realistically, it is probably at its best when used in long-range, open country hunting typical of western big game territory. While its primary use is in the hunting fields, the cartridge’s flat trajectory and inherent accuracy has attracted the interest of competitive shooters as well. Eight years after its introduction, it was used in conjunction with Sierra’s 168 grain MatchKing to win the prestigious 1000 yard Wimbledon match at Camp Perry. While there have been many developments in cartridge design, the 7mm Remington Magnum is still a very note-worthy cartridge that deserves a closer look.